Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are an extensively investigated type of soft actuator. However, the PAM motions have been limited somewhat to uniaxial contraction and extension, restraining the development of PAMs. Given the current strong interest in soft robotics, PAMs have been gaining renewed attention due to their excellent compliance and ease of fabrication. Herein, under the inspiration of the elephant trunk, a family of bending and helical extensile PAMs (HE-PAMs)/helical contractile PAMs (HC-PAMs) was proposed and analyzed. Through both experiment and analysis, a model of generalized bending behavior of PAMs was built and developed to investigate the properties of axial, bending, and helical PAMs in the same theoretical framework. The topological equivalence and bifurcation were found in the analysis and utilized to explain the behaviors of these different PAMs. Meanwhile, a coupled constant curvature and torsion kinematics model was proposed to depict the motion of PAMs more accurately and conveniently. Moreover, a soft tandem manipulator consisting of bending and helical PAMs was proposed to demonstrate their attractive potential.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
MarcheseAD, KatzschmannRK, RusD. A recipe for soft fluidic elastomer robots. Soft Robot, 2015; 2:7–25.
2.
LaschiC, MazzolaiB, CianchettiM. Soft robotics: technologies and systems pushing the boundaries of robot abilities. Sci Robot, 2016; 1:eaah3690.
3.
GorissenB, ReynaertsD, KonishiS, et al.Elastic inflatable actuators for soft robotic applications. Adv Mater, 2017; 29:1604977.
4.
HinesL, PetersenK, LumGZ, et al.Soft actuators for small-scale robotics. Adv Mater, 2017; 29:1603483.
5.
DaerdenF, LefeberD. Pneumatic artificial muscles: actuators for robotics and automation. Eur J Mech Environ Eng, 2002; 47:10–21.
6.
GaylordRH. Fluid actuated motor system and stroking device. US2844126, 1958.
7.
ChouCP, HannafordB. Measurement and modeling of McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles. IEEE Trans Rob Autom, 1996; 12:90–102.
8.
TuffieldP, EliasH. The shadow robot mimics human actions. Ind Robot, 2013; 30:56–60.
9.
BallEJ, MellerMA, ChipkaJB, et al.Modeling and testing of a knitted-sleeve fluidic artificial muscle. Smart Mater Struct, 2016; 25:115024.
LightnerS, LincolnR. The fluidic muscle: a ‘new’ development. Int J Mod Eng, 2002; 2:8.
12.
Bishop-MoserJ, KotaS. Towards snake-like soft robots: design of fluidic fiber-reinforced elastomeric helical manipulators. In Proceedings, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Tokyo, Japan: IEEE, 2013, pp. 5021–5026.
13.
PolygerinosP, WangZ, OverveldeJTB, et al.Modeling of soft fiber-reinforced bending actuators. IEEE Trans Robot, 2015; 31:778–789.
14.
DeimelR, BrockO. A novel type of compliant and underactuated robotic hand for dexterous grasping. Int J Rob Res, 2016; 35:161–185.
15.
DaerdenF, LefeberD. The concept and design of pleated pneumatic artificial muscles. Int J Fluid Power, 2001; 2:41–50.
16.
NoritsuguT, YamamotoH, SasakiD, et al.Wearable power assist device for hand grasping using pneumatic artificial rubber muscle. SICE Annual Conference, Sapporo, Japan, August 4–6, 2004. IEEE,, 2004; 1:420–425.
17.
WirekohJ, ParkYL. Design of flat pneumatic artificial muscles. Smart Mater Struct, 2017; 26:035009.
18.
Mcmahan W, Chitrakaran V, Csencsits M, et al. Field trials and testing of the OctArm continuum manipulator. In Proceedings, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). Orlando, Florida, USA. IEEE, 2006, pp. 2336–2341.
19.
PillsburyTE, WereleyNM, GuanQ. Comparison of contractile and extensile pneumatic artificial muscles. Smart Mater Struct, 2017; 26:095034.
20.
WangZ, PolygerinosP, OverveldeJ, et al.Interaction forces of soft fiber reinforced bending actuators. IEEE/ASME Trans Mechatron, 2017; 22:717–727.
21.
Guan Q, Sun J, Liu Y, et al. A bending actuator based on extensile PAM and its applications for soft robotics. In Proceedings, 21st International Conference on Composite Materials, 2017, Xi'an. Xi'an, International Committee on Composite Materials (ICCM), 2017, pp. 20–25.
22.
KleinwachterH, GeerkJ. Device with a pressurizable variable capacity chamber for transforming a fluid pressure into a motion. US Patent No. 3,638,536. Feb. 1, 1972.
23.
Bishop-MoserJ, KotaS. Design and modeling of generalized fiber-reinforced pneumatic soft actuators. IEEE Trans Robot, 2017; 31:536–545.
24.
GreefAD, LambertP, DelchambreA. Towards flexible medical instruments: review of flexible fluidic actuators. Precis Eng, 2009; 33:311–321.
25.
KobayashiJ, OkumuraK, WatanabeY, et al.Development of a variable stiffness joint drive module and experimental results of joint angle control. Artif Life Robot, 2010; 15:72–76.
26.
BoothJW, ShahD, CaseJC, et al.OmniSkins: robotic skins that turn inanimate objects into multifunctional robots. Sci Robot, 2018; 3:eaat1853.
27.
Al-FahaamH, Nefti-MezianiS, TheodoridisT, et al.The design and mathematical model of a novel variable stiffness extensor-contractor pneumatic artificial muscle. Soft Robot, 2018 Jul 24.
28.
Andrikopoulos G, Nikolakopoulos G, Manesis S. A survey on applications of pneumatic artificial muscles. In Proceedings, 19th Mediterranean Conference on Control & Automation (MED), 2011, Corfu, Greece. IEEE, 2011, pp. 1439–1446.
29.
KimS, LaschiC, TrimmerB. Soft robotics: a bioinspired evolution in robotics. Trends Biotechnol, 2013; 31:287.
30.
Al-Ibadi A, Nefti-Meziani S, Davis S. Novel models for the extension pneumatic muscle actuator performances. In Proceedings, 23rd International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC), 2017, Huddersfield, UK. IEEE, 2017, pp. 1–6.
31.
FeiY, WangJ, PangW. A novel fabric-based versatile and stiffness-tunable soft gripper integrating soft pneumatic fingers and wrist. Soft Robot, 2019; 6:1–20.
32.
TrivediD, RahnCD, KierWM, et al.Soft robotics: biological inspiration, state of the art, and future research. Appl Bionics Biomech, 2014; 5:99–117.
33.
SmithKK, KierWM. Trunks, tongues, and tentacles: moving with skeletons of muscle. Am Sci, 1989; 77:28–35.
34.
Bishop-Moser J, Krishnan G, Kim C, Kota S. Design of soft robotic actuators using fluid-filled fiber-reinforced elastomeric enclosures in parallel combinations. In Proceedings, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2012, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal. IEEE, 2012, pp. 4264–4269.
35.
ConnollyF, PolygerinosP, WalshCJ, BertoldiK. Mechanical programming of soft actuators by varying fiber angle. Soft Robot, 2017; 2:26–32.
36.
KurumayaS, PhillipsBT, BeckerKP, et al.A modular soft robotic wrist for underwater manipulation. Soft Robot, 2018; 5:399–409.
37.
YanJ, ZhangX, XuB, et al.A new spiral-type inflatable pure torsional soft actuator. Soft Robot, 2018; 5:527–540.
38.
UppalapatiNK, KrishnanG. Towards pneumatic spiral grippers: modeling and design considerations. Soft robot, 2018; 5:695–709.
39.
Zhao F, Dohta S, Akagi T, Matsushita H. Development of a bending actuator using a rubber artificial muscle and its application to a robot hand. In Proceedings, SICE-ICASE International Joint Conference, 2006, Bexco, Busan, Korea. IEEE, 2006, pp. 381–384.
40.
NoritsuguT, GaoL. Development of wearable waist power assist device using curved pneumatic artificial rubber muscle. Trans Jpn Hydraulics Pneumatics Soc, 2005; 36:143–151.
41.
ZhangJF, YangCJ, ChenY, et al.Modeling and control of a curved pneumatic muscle actuator for wearable elbow exoskeleton. Mechatronics, 2008; 18:448–457.
42.
Hassanin AF, Steve D, Samia NM. A novel, soft, bending actuator for use in power assist and rehabilitation exoskeletons. In Proceedings, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada. IEEE, 2017, pp. 533–538.
43.
Al-FahaamH, DavisS, Nefti-MezianiS. The design and mathematical modelling of novel extensor bending pneumatic artificial muscles (EBPAMs) for soft exoskeletons. Robot Auton Syst, 2017; 9963–9974.
44.
TonduB.Modelling of the McKibben artificial muscle: a review. J Intell Mater Syst Struct, 2012; 23:225–253.
JonesBA, WalkerID. Kinematics for multisection continuum robots. IEEE Trans Robot, 2006; 22:43–55.
47.
Webster IiiRJ, JonesBA. Design and kinematic modeling of constant curvature continuum robots: a review. Int J Robot Res, 2010; 29:1661–1683.
48.
Burgner-KahrsJ, RuckerDC, ChosetH. Continuum robots for medical applications: a survey. IEEE Trans Robot, 2015; 31:1261–1280.
49.
RendaF, CianchettiM, GiorelliM, et al.A 3D steady-state model of a tendon-driven continuum soft manipulator inspired by the octopus arm. Bioinspiration Biomimetics, 2012; 7:025006.
50.
HockingEG, WereleyNM. Analysis of nonlinear elastic behavior in miniature pneumatic artificial muscles. Smart Mater Struct, 2013; 22:014016.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
